1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to a mount for a heating module to afford attachment of such module to conveyor chutes, storage vessels, hoppers and like equipment so as to prevent material flowing or residing in the equipment from freezing and/or clogging the equipment.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
Electrically powered heating units are in wide use on conveyor chutes, storage vessels and hoppers to prevent material therein from freezing or agglomerating. For example, a typical coal fired boiler is supplied with coal via a conveyor chute that slopes downward from a coal supply source to the boiler. Although during warm and temperate weather the coal moves freely through the conveyor chute, during subfreezing weather the coal often freezes and retards free movement of the coal to the boiler. Electrically powered heating modules having a surface area of say one by three feet have been employed. Such heating modules are typically bolted onto the exterior surface of the chute and the heat produced in the module is conducted through the chute wall to prevent the material within the chute from freezing.
The expense in providing and installing heating modules has tended to restrict their use to limited portions of a path of conveyance, and while the modules are effective in the sites at which they are installed, varying weather conditions can cause erratic movement through the conveyor chute. Another environment where installation of heating modules has not been widely adopted is rail cars employed to transport coal. The rail cars employed to transport coal are typically open cars; precipitation on the coal freezes in winter. At the destination of the rail car, it is typical to provide a pit beneath the rails and to provide in the bottom of the car discharge chutes that can be opened to discharge coal by gravity into the pit. In the presence of frozen water intermixed with the coal, however, the frozen coal remains in the rail car. Spraying the coal with antifreeze agents is expensive and not altogether effective. Permanent installation of heating modules on rail vehicles is not prevalent because of the relative expense of permanently installing heater modules on each rail car.